100,000 line up to back Sheriff Joe

Officials with Grassfire Nation, a key coordinating group for tea-party-type activities and issues, say the Department of Justice’s investigation of Maricopa, Ariz., County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is nothing more than a political attack.

And to offer encouragement to the sheriff, Darla Dawald, representing the Grassfire Nation group, has presented Arpaio with a petition of some 100,000 signatures from people who have declared their support for the law-enforcement officer.

Grassfire Nation supports the Patriot Action Network, which calls itself the “nation’s largest conservative social action network, involving tens of thousands of citizens,” including many tea party members.

The petition demands DOJ prove its accusations that Arpaio’s office has engaged in a policy to systematically violate the civil rights of Hispanics, which WND has reported DOJ refuses to do.

The petition claims the DOJ investigation is nothing more than a baseless, politically motivated attack on Arpaio.

“Citizens belonging to this grass roots movement who called themselves ‘Grassroots Nation’ have followed the situation and say they feel the federal government has orchestrated an attack on the Sheriff for Obama’s political gain, who hopes to ingratiate himself to the Hispanic American voting block,” the petition read.

The petition’s “Statement of Support” says:

“As a Citizen of the United States, I am declaring my support for Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the sheriff’s lawful practices in prosecuting criminal and his unflinching stand in handling the illegal immigration crisis in his home state of Arizona. I demand that the U.S. Department of Justice release any evidence involving the allegations against Sheriff Joe and his department’s practices. If proven unfounded, I demand an immediate end to the politically motivated witch-hunt against the sheriff and his department, and a public apology from Attorney General Holder.”

A video of the presentation:

At the time, Arpaio noted that not only does he enforce the law, he also has his Cold Case Posse investigating Barack Obama’s birth certificate and eligibility.

WND previously reported that the tea party letter formally stated the following charge: “The Surprise Tea Party is concerned that no law enforcement agency or other duly constituted government agency has conducted an investigation into the Obama birth certificate to determine if it is in fact an authentic copy of 1961 birth records on file for Barack Obama at the Hawaii Department of Health in Honolulu, or whether it, or they are forgeries.”

The posse, constituted under the authority of Arpaio’s office, consists of three former law enforcement officers and two retired attorneys with law enforcement experience. It has been examining evidence since September concerning Obama’s eligibility to be president under Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution.

The Cold Case Posse conducting the investigation has been described as a “posse within the posse,” consisting of volunteers with professional experience in conducting investigations. It includes individuals chosen because of their professional backgrounds in law enforcement, lawyers who have participated in criminal or civil cases and individuals with specialized skills in fields ranging from accounting to conducting criminal forensic examination.

The posse was constituted as a 501(c)3 organization, designed to cost the people of Maricopa County nothing, while enabling people from around the country to contribute to its mission.

In total, more than 3,000 volunteers participate in Arpaio’s posse program. The power to constitute posses is authorized to Arizona sheriffs under the state constitution.

Regarding the Department of Justice Investigation, Arpaio has told WND the issue raised by the DOJ is the sheriff’s office treatment of Hispanics. The DOJ alleges there are systematic violations of Hispanics’ federal civil rights.

However, Arpaio’s repeated requests for documentation have not generated a response.

Arpaio told Dawald that he is just doing his job.

“I serve the four million people who live in this county,” he said.

Dawald said the signatures actually represent voices of Americans “who have made a commitment to stand with Sheriff Joe and his policies to protect this great state and the nation.”

Arpaio has contended that a 22-page complaint the DOJ released Dec. 15 is nothing more than anecdotal and did not prove systematic sheriff’s department policies aimed at depriving Hispanics of their civil rights.

Nor was Arpaio concerned that the DOJ might take him and his sheriff’s office to federal court immediately, as it has threatened.

The DOJ has threatened that if Arpaio “wants to debate the facts instead of fixing the problems stated in our findings, we will do so by way of litigation.”

Those wishing to send a tax-deductible contribution directly to the Cold Case Posse may do so by mailing a check or money order to: MCSO Cold Case Posse, P.O. Box 74374, Phoenix, AZ 85087.